1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure is directed to printed wiring boards and more particularly, to an angled RE connection using a flexible substrate.
2. Related Art
Many high-density, high performance electronic systems use a three-dimensional packaging architecture. Many current phased array architectures utilize this three dimensional packaging concept, where the modules are vertically oriented to allow proper lattice spacing for a given frequency. Each module, in general, includes a distribution network, a chip carrier, and a radiator.
High frequency RF signals from a vertically oriented chip set are connected to a horizontally oriented radiator board, also referred to as an Antenna Integrated Printed Wiring Board (AIPWB). Reduction of radiated power during transmit operation and an increase of noise during receive operation are directly proportional to losses caused by this connection. Traditional designs use manually formed wirebonds for connecting these vertical and horizontal assemblies.
Manual wire bonding is typically used because Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) wirebonders cannot produce bonds having bonding pads in different, angled planes with limited access. This manual approach is tedious, consuming assembly time, often requiring manual repairs (touch-up) to produce an acceptable connection, and does not produce a consistently performing RF connection.
Therefore, a structure and method are needed that support an angled RF interconnection between two elements without expensive manual wire bonding, while preserving or enhancing design integrity.